The Guided tours
During the period of the manifestation free guided tours to the archaeological sites of the province of Salerno are offered:

• Archaeological National Museum - Paestum
  
• Archaeological Park of Paestum
  
• Museum of the Sanctuary of Hera Hargiva at the mouth of river Sele - Paestum
  
• Archaeological Park of Velia
  
• Archaeological Area of Fratte - Salerno
  
• Picture-Gallery of the Province of Salerno
  
• The Churches of Santa Maria de Lama and San Pietro a Corte - Salerno
  
• Villa Guariglia - Vietri sul Mare - Salerno
  

The Tour Operators, journalists, guesses, schools and visitors will find out the territory of Salerno with guided tours managed by Archaeological and BAPPSAD Sovraintendenza.

Programs Guided tours
Edited by the Archaeological Service of SALERNO - AVELLINO And BENEVENTO

Booking form for guided tour


National Archaeological Museum of Paestum
The Museum preserves incomparable finds which come from the town and territory of Poseidonia - Paestum: prehistoric ornaments and implements, funeral equipment, architectonic and sculptural remains found in the excavations. Very interesting are the sculpture, made up of clay, of Zeus aged mid VI sec. a.c., the big clay female bust without the head aged end of VI sec. a.c.. Outstanding are the painted slabs coming from same of the over 120 tombs found till now, the most famous of them is the painting tomb called "Tomba del Tuffatore"(tomb of the diver) aged 480 a.c.. Sculptures, inscriptions on the marble, objects of cult, pieces of vases and amphoras testified the Roman Age in Paestum.

Museum of the Sanctuary of Hera Hargiva
The museum of Hera Hargiva is about 8 km from Paestum near the mouth of river Sele. The showroom offers the visitors the opportunity of different point of view of the Sanctuary that is an archaeological site with very few visible elements. But it is a mythic place for different reasons: the myth of his foundation by Giasone; the cult of Hera lasted centuries which is also alive nowadays in the religious cult of Madonna del Granato di Capaccio; the heroic and exceptional from the first excavation to the latest searches; the importance of finds, the importance of archaic metopes and thousands of ceramics and votive statuettes recovered. The stories are narrated by using films, 3D reconstructions, video-installations, sound effects and illustrative panels. Visitors can be guided by them during the whole visit.

Archaeological Park of Velia.
Velia, previously known Elea, was founded about in 540 a.c. by Focei colonists after having left Asia in order to escape from Ciro's soldiers. Here Parmenide and Zenone were born and with them the Eleatic school which is a "landmark" in the philosophical culture of the ancient time. By the ruins it is easy to imagine clearly what the town was like. Through "Porta Rosa", a unique example of Greek architecture with a round vault. The wall of sacred enclosure is valuable with delightful stoa or portico, paved with Hellenic bricks.

Archaeological park of Paestum
Poseidonia was a Greek colony founded at the end of VII sec. a.c. by Sibariti population. It was conquered at the end of V sec. a.c. by Lucani but in III sec. a.c. it became a Latin colony with name of Paestum. Protected by 5 km of a pentagonal boundary wall, there are the impressive Doric temples of IV and V sec. a.c.: the Basilica of Hera, the Nettuno or Poseidon Temple and the Cerere Temple. The Basilica is the oldest Temple of Paestum: it was built in a solemn style with its Doric columns of the portico, east orientated. The most classic and perfect example of Doric Temple of the Greek world is definitely the Nettuno Temple. In the North end of sacred zone there is the Cerere Temple dedicated to Athena. The extent of the excavation includes a very big area of the town with great buildings such as thermae, the portico of the forum, amphitheatre.

Archaeological area of Fratte - Salerno
It was an important preroman centre, with ruins aged VI sec. a.c., where Etruscan, Greek and local population lived altogether. The archaeological zone was called "Acropoli" both because of the position of its ruins and because what was recovered gave the impression there had been a religious and civil centre at the top of the installation. Impressive are the ruins of Sannitic necropolis of the end of IV sec. a.c..

Picture-Gallery of the province of Salerno
Palazzo Pinto, an aristocratic house in the historical centre of Salerno, lend its rooms for the picture-gallery of the province of Salerno. Paintings from Renaissance to the first part of twentieth century are exhibited. In the section dedicated to Renaissance there are pictures by Andrea Da salerno and by Maestro dell'Incoronazione di Eboli. Of a great interest are the paintings of the seventeenth century by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, Andrea De Lioni and Carlo Rosa. Of the eighteenth century are the paintings by Francesco Solimena and his Accademy. There are a lot of pictures painted by artists of Salerno and its Coasts aged second part of 900. A special section is dedicated to foreign artists that created just here the works exhibited.

Archaeological Museum of province of Salerno
Here it can be found a rich documentation of the history of the province of Salerno from the prehistory. Very important is the equipment of the princely tomb of Roscigno of the end of V sec. and the beginning of IV sec. a.c.. There are ceramics from Campania, Lucania and Sannio of the Hellenic age, Etruscan bases, bronze ornaments and in particular the marvellous head of Apollo found in the sea of salerno's gulf. It is a precious object original of the late Hellenic age of the first part of I sec. a.c., it is thought to be a work of Pasiteles, born in Magnae Greece.

The Church of Santa Maria de Lama e San Pietro a Corte - Salerno
The first document where the Church of Santa Maria de Lama is mentioned is dated 1055: "ecclesia Sancta Marie ubi Lama dicitur...............constructa intus hanc salernitanam civitatem ", but probably it has a more ancient origin. Santa Maria de Lama, situated in the heart of historical centre of the town, preserves the only evidences of the Longobard period of Salerno. Inside there were two columns decorated with pictures almost of the natural dimensions: one of them represents Christ with the cross, on the other one there are a female figure, maybe Maddalena.
The Church of San Pietro a Corte, known as the Chapel "Palatina" founded by Prince Arechi II, about in 787, is now the most important building of the historical centre of Salerno. Archaeological researches still in progress have recovered the Roman area. These area includes both rooms below it, once occupied by small shops, and the space belongs to confraternity of Sant'Anna in XIII sec. the church was used as a place where parlament's sessions were held: in the church public ceremonies were often celebrated, one of them was the ceremony to hand over the degrees of Scuola Medica Salernitana.

Villa Guariglia and Museum of ceramics of Vietri sul Mare
The most part of ceramics are from Vietri but there are also same from other place of Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Liguria. The most ancient pieces of Vietri's ceramics are dated late XV century. These production is part of a trend of working the clay followed in Salerno and in the places just around it till the pre-roman age. Of the XVII century are the most ancient examples votive tiles. Rich is the production of 1920-1930 which represents the period known as "German" one, including pieces of artists from north Europe created in Vietri.